Brazilian minister: Assad ready for dialogue with Israel
Brazil's foreign minister meets President Peres, says Damascus open to peace negotiations. One cannot overlook Assad's support of terror, says Peres
Syrian President Bashar Assad is ready for dialogue with Israel, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Nunes Amorim told President Shimon Peres Thursday.
Amorim arrived in Jerusalem from Damascus, where he and Assad reportedly discussed the possibility of Israeli-Syrian peace talks.
Peres told the Brazilian FM that while Israel will always seek peace (with its neighbors), one cannot overlook the game Assad is playing – holding out one hand in peace and providing funding and arms to terror groups such as Hizbullah and Hamas in the other.
Brazilian FM Celso Nunes Amorim with President Peres (Photo: Flash 90)
Amorim asked Peres to tell him what Brazil in general and he – in his capacity as foreign minister – can do to facilitate a Mideast peace process, stressing that his country does not favor one side over the other and is interested in nothing but helping Israel resolve its conflicts with its neighbors.
Commenting on Hizbullah's Hassan Nasrallah's speech during Hizbullah commander Imad Mugniyah's funeral earlier Thursday, Peres said that Hizbullah has gained nothing from the Second Lebanon War and has only brought ruin to Lebanon.
In late December 2007, Syria's Assad blamed the US and Israel for hindering all peace initiatives brought forwards in the Syrian channel so far; at the same time reiterating his country's commitment to the Mideast peace process and calling for a renewed dialogue between Syria and the US.
